New Frontiers Devil's Fury
by Captain Enor
Summary: An Academy training voyage goes awry for the crew of the USS Hornet Please R/R If you like it, I'll keep writing. Hopefully, this will be the first of a series of stories by me.
1. Arrival at Starfleet Academy

CHAPTER ONE  
  
There was a bustle of activity at the Starfleet Academy headquarters. Many cadets had just received their field assignment orders from Academy Superintendent Admiral Brand. Several of these cadets were heading toward a special landing zone nearby where a large vessel was making its final approach for landing at this very moment.  
  
"Cadets bound for the Enterprise and Akagi, report to shuttlebays one and two. Cadets for the Hornet, report to landing pad B," came an announcement over the intercom.  
  
As it grew closer to the cadets, they could see the markings that identified it as a starship of the United Federation of Planets. It had four warp engine nacelles, an odd looking object attached to the underside of the saucer section, and a bright blue deflector dish. As the landing struts came out of the lower part of the hull, the ship's registry could be identified, as could the name of the ship. Cadet First Class Amy Yates looked and pointed when she could recognize the registry number and clearly read the name of the ship.  
  
"N C C seven-four-six-five-seven! USS Hornet!" she squealed with delight as she read it to her fellow cadets with her.  
  
The other cadets flocked around her and watched with eagerness, joy, and a little apprehensiveness as the vessel finally touched its landing struts to the sturdy superstructure of the landing area. The last of the atmospheric microfusion thrusters had fired, in order to cushion the landing even further.  
  
"Amy, are you sure you can tame that beast of a starship?" asked her friend, Cadet Second Class Traci McLoughlin.  
  
"Traci, you were with me when we took the Wolf 359 command test. You tell me," Amy retorted.  
  
"Sorry..." Traci said quietly. Then, she perked up a little, and she gently took Amy's arm. "Amy, have you read up yet on this Captain Enor?"  
  
"No. Why'd you ask?"  
  
"I heard he graduated after only 2 and a half years, and got immediate first officer posting on the...." she paused, in thought, "Gettysburg."  
  
Amy's eyes widened and stared at Traci in disbelief. "D....D.....D...Did I just hear you correctly???" she stammered. "Did you just say that he got a first officer position RIGHT out of the Academy???!!!"  
  
Traci nodded, and gave Amy a hug, to help ease her startledness and whispered, "It's going to be okay Amy. If you ever need a hug, talk to me, your Trill 'counselor.' I'll always be here for you."  
  
Amy returned the hug, and brushed a tear on Traci's red top of her cadet uniform.. Shortly after that, a transporter beam whined, and a medium height man and woman materialized, both of which wore Starfleet uniforms, and before they got through being reconstructed at the molecular level, Amy could see both had the subtle mottled spotting going from the temples, down the sides of the face, at the hairline, and down their necks, that marked them as Trills. When they finished materializing, the cadets instantly went to attention.  
  
The man there looked the cadets over, and they could see he wore a Starfleet captain's uniform with a red collar. He smiled at each one of them, then to the whole group.  
  
"As you were," he said politely to the cadets, which promptly let out a sigh of relief. "I am Chris Enor, commanding officer of the Hornet, and I welcome you all to your field duties onboard the Hornet. After I make sure this roster is correct, we'll proceed with the tours."  
  
He scrolled down a PADD that he had with him, and read off the cadets' names, one at a time. Each cadet there responded with "Here" if they were there.  
  
"That takes care of it. All of you are accounted for. First of all, I want to introduce the head of our new botanical lab, Lieutenant Molly Kallandra."  
  
She came closer, and nodded, and smiled to Enor as well as to the cadets.  
  
"The botany lab will be open for those who have special projects in plants, herbs, and anything else in the botany field."  
  
The cadets nodded to her, as she went down toward the Academy complex, to say hello to some of her former instructors.  
  
Enor continued, "Cadets, feel free to roam about the ship, but I expect you all to be ready and at your assigned posts by 1700 hours. We'll be lifting off then." He turned his attention to Amy. "Cadet Amy Yates, for this field assignment, unless we end up in an emergency, such as an attack, a distress call being received, or anything that falls under the category of 'not ordinary circumstances,' you will be in command. I will offer advice as you ask for it, but that will be the extent of it."  
  
He smiled and extended his hand to Amy, who extended her hand and they shook hands.  
  
"Congratulations, 'Captain' Yates. Report to my ready room once you have gotten settled in, so I can go over the mission with you."  
  
Amy smiled and replied, "Aye sir."  
  
Traci could see that Amy was getting a crush on her field commanding officer, and tried to suppress a rather powerful urge to laugh, but didn't say anything to Amy or to Enor, although he recognized the look on her face, and that said it all.  
  
"The rest of you, once you have settled into your quarters, report to the officers you have been assigned to for a rundown on what the Hornet can do, as well as the control layouts," Enor added.  
  
The cadets nodded, and prepared to be beamed aboard the ship.  
  
Enor tapped his commbadge. "Enor to Hornet, beam up the cadets in this group."  
  
"Aye sir," came the voice of Transporter Chief Helen Kraimer.  
  
"Energize when ready lieutenant," said Enor.  
  
"Energizing now captain," she said.  
  
A pattern of blue-green lights touched the cadets' midsections and spread in opposite directions, one set of two energy spheres going up to their heads, while two more went down to their feet simultaneously, and shortly, the cadets were engulfed in the transporter beam, and vanished.  
  
Moments later, the cadets rematerialized on a large transporter platform, larger than what most starships had. It was a special evacuation transporter, that was also used for wide angle transports to and from the ship, and was used when there were many people to be beamed aboard or off the ship.  
  
* * * 


	2. Roaming the Academy Campus

CHAPTER 2  
  
Captain Enor walked along the Academy campus, as old memories resurfaced from his time there. He went looking around the flower gardens that were maintained by Boothby, the Academy grounds keeper. He also saw Lieutenant Kallandra there, just smelling the flowers and smiling. He had seen that she was right near a section that he had helped Boothby cultivate three years earlier, when Chris was in his junior year at the Academy.  
  
"Hi Molly," he called out.  
  
"Chris!" she yelped as she jumped out of the garden area she was in. "What are you doing out here? Weren't you supposed to be helping with the tours for the cadets?"  
  
"I left that to Commander Mathison. She's a better tour guide than I am and wasn't on duty at the time, so I asked her and she loved the idea," he told Molly.  
  
"Let me guess... Saying 'Hi' to all the instructors we both had?" she asked.  
  
"Molly, you just know your brother too well, even after being Joined." He shook his head slowly, in a bit of disbelief. "I think that there's also some Betazoid DNA in you that lets you have telepathy," he said jokingly and laughed at the silly remark he'd just made.  
  
She giggled with that and shook her head. "Then why didn't Doctor Ogawa even tell me, you, or anyone else if I had Betazoid DNA? Can you answer that?"  
  
Chris just shook his head.  
  
"Alright, well, you didn't change, except for last name, when that symbiont crawled into you." She gently poked his upper abdomen, where the Enor symbiont was nestled.  
  
"HEY! That tickles!" he said, trying to get her to stop the poking there, and couldn't stop laughing.  
  
They just sat there laughing for a while, attracting the attention of some of the cadets, who in turn joined in on the laughing, without knowing what the apparent joke was.  
  
"There is a friend of mine who graduated with me from the Symbiosis Institute, who I'm told got a symbiont with the same name as mine, and ironically is also a first host," said Chris, after he calmed down, "so I guess, in a funny way, she and I are family."  
  
Molly looked at her brother, after finally managing to get control over her own giddy laughter, and had a look of shock on her face. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, but I am, sis. Her Joined name is Moll Enor, and last I heard, she was stationed on Deep Space Nine, becoming their new Chief Science officer, when Jadzia was killed." He paused, as a tear rolled down his cheek, remembering how much he liked Jadzia Dax. "I don't know much about this new host, named Ezri Tigan..." He corrected himself for her new name, "I mean, Ezri Dax. All I know is that she can't get her pronouns right, and she never wanted to be Joined."  
  
"Well, maybe Commander Williams will get to know her some. She has a habit of knowing who everybody is, and meeting them in one way or another," Molly said, trying to comfort Chris.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure Tatie will learn more about her than her personnel profile shows... She admitted to scrounging up more information on me than I even knew about myself, before she ever boarded the Hornet. Now that idea scares me..." he said to her.  
  
"I know. She may not be Joined, nor want to be, but she can be nosy at times," replied Molly.  
  
"She told me she wanted to be Joined, eventually, and hopefully make another first host," Chris told her.  
  
"You cannot be serious!" she said with surprise. "Only one Trill in ten thousand even makes it to be a first host. Sometimes slimmer odds than that, from what you told me."  
  
"True," he said, getting up off the bench. "What do you say we go to the Academy lounge, and get something to eat, before the lunch rush comes in?" he asked her as she stood up too.  
  
The lunch rush would normally leave them out in the corridor for an hour, usually.  
  
"Sounds fine by me. But, if I see any gagh or anything that's slimy, I'll scream," she said in a funny way.  
  
"Fair bargain," he agreed. "Personally, I cannot stand gagh. Just seeing it makes the symbiont jump, not to mention my stomach."  
  
Molly smiled, trying very hard to not laugh from that remark, but she knew the same was true of her own stomach, even though she wasn't Joined, she could sympathize.  
  
As they went down to the lounge, exchanging remarks about the very few differences they had, even though he was Joined and she wasn't, Chris thought he saw Jadzia Dax. He blinked away his vision, and could still see her.  
  
"Dax?" he asked, seeing her.  
  
She didn't turn her head, but she could easily pass off as Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax, just by physical appearance and voice. The only difference this individual had, was that she had no spots that marked her as a Trill. Other than that, she was identical to Jadzia.  
  
Enor shrugged off the thought as he and Molly reached the lounge, which was rather quiet, compared to the lunch rush.  
  
"Let me see... Terry recommended something called pizza, as an excellent nutritional and a very palatable food. He did warn me about the spiciness of it, too..." Chris said, more to himself while trying to decide what to order.  
  
Molly and Chris went over to an empty table, near a large window, showing the Presidio, Starfleet Headquarters, as well as the eastern and northern wings of the Academy complex.  
  
A waitress came over, and said, "My name is Kendra. What can I get you?" She had the appearance of a young Trill, with a slim figure, and was very attractive. Her voice was very soothing on the captain's nervous tension about having cadets running his ship, and over his concern for his chief of security, Commander Tatie Williams.  
  
Chris looked back over the menu of available items, and after a lengthy debate with his hunger, he decided he'd take his first officer up on the suggestion.  
  
"Cheese pizza, add mushrooms, pepperoni, and sausage," he said, having some difficulty totally deciding on the toppings. "Small size, please."  
  
Kendra nodded and turned to the lieutenant, waiting on her to order.  
  
Molly sighed in thought as she read over the menu choices. "I'll try this thing here.." She pointed to it, unable to pronounce it at all.  
  
"Trill's choice pasta'vienereenie," she replied. "Is that what you want?"  
  
Molly looked at her in awe. "That's some weird name. What all is it?" she asked.  
  
"It's very similar to a Terran beef and noodle casserole, except with a few extra spices from Trill mixed in. I highly recommend it for nutritional value and for the exploratory palate," said their waitress.  
  
"Ok," Molly said enthusiastically, "I'll take some."  
  
Kendra looked at them again, her spots reflecting strangely off of the room lighting. "Ok, so that's a small pizza with only cheese, mushrooms, pepperoni, and sausage; one order of pasta'vienereenie. Will there be anything to drink?" she asked, very politely.  
  
"I'll take an ice cold glass of ichoberry juice," the captain said, more as a request.  
  
Molly perked up. "I'll have the same."  
  
"And two very cold glasses of ichoberry juice? Will that be all for you two today?" she asked, in a very polite way.  
  
"I think that pretty well takes care of it, Kendra," replied Molly, nicely. "Thank you."  
  
Kendra nodded, and rushed back to the kitchen, almost catching her cadet uniform on the corner of the bar.  
  
Chris decided to tell his sister about the mission going on. "I had received word from the homeworld, that the symbiont pools are over-crowded. Our objectives are to go to the moons of Trill, and see if we can find places ideal for the symbionts, so that more of them can live, without being so crowded and being Joined too soon," he explained. "Two were killed by being Joined too early. They drove the hosts mad with the infantile minds and thoughts." A saddened look came over his face. "Right now, Starfleet wants the Hornet to see to this problem and get it solved immediately. The next symbiont breeding cycle is in 3 months, and when that happens, we could be looking at somewhere around an estimated twenty- five percent of the newborn symbionts being sacrificed, and the Commission is not willing to permit that. I've offered to bring some onto the ship as an alternative, but haven't gotten any response yet."  
  
Molly looked at him in pure shock, unable to say a word.  
  
"I know. I couldn't believe it either. But, we need to find more room for them to live in, without risking their safety. Starfleet has given us clearance to use whatever resources we need in order to ensure success in our mission."  
  
Molly stared at him, finally finding her voice, and asked, "When do we leave?"  
  
"As soon as possible. I'll have a conference with the cadets and the senior officers together in the observation lounge after we get through here. Starfleet Command has informed me that Captain Picard and the Enterprise will also be within two sectors of where we're going, in the case we need their assistance," he replied.  
  
"That's good," she said. "At least we'll have the Federation flagship in the vicinity, should we run into trouble."  
  
"Agreed. Personally, with the war going on, and us getting our break for some scientific work, I like the idea of having a shipful of scientific minds to fall back on, just in case," he told her.  
  
Moments later, Kendra came back with a rather large tray, holding their food items, and beverages. "Sorry it took so long on the drinks, but I had to reprogram the juicer to get the right proportions of juice out of the ichoberries," she said apologetically as she brought the plates and tall crystal glasses off of the tray and set them down gently in front of Chris and Molly.  
  
"That's okay, Kendra. If it helps any, I have to do that whenever I make some, unless I use the replicator," Molly said, smiling to Chris, since he was the one who practically lived off of that drink.  
  
Kendra smiled, and took her now empty tray back to the kitchen, came back out with a plateful of food for herself, sat at an adjoining table, and started eating away.  
  
Enor and Kallandra both started eating, and kept up their discussion regarding the mission ahead of them. 


	3. Start of the Training Mission

CHAPTER 3  
  
Back on the Hornet, Cadet Yates had finished unpacking her belongings, and realized when her roommate for her quarters showed up, it was Traci, after she'd answered the door chime.  
  
"Traci!" Amy shouted with delight. "We got quarters together?!"  
  
Amy could not keep her joy down at all, and appeared very hyper.  
  
Traci smiled and hugged Amy. "You better believe it," she said in a similar joyful manner, nearly matching Amy's little display. "Did you hear? I got assigned to be your first officer for this mission!" she continued in a gleeful manner.  
  
"No way! Are you pulling your best friend's leg here?"  
  
"I am not joking, Amy." She handed Amy a PADD showing her the post assignments.  
  
Amy looked in awe at the assignments. "Are you telling me that for once someone followed a request of mine for crew assignments?" she asked.  
  
"It would appear so," replied Traci, with a smile.  
  
Amy finished setting up her holophotos of her parents, grandparents, friends, as well as one of her pet kitten. Traci looked at it. The kitten in the picture had tan colored fur with a water-like pattern in the colors of its fur. Traci loved how this cat looked.  
  
"Oh! She's so cute!" she told Amy. "What's her name?" she asked.  
  
"Amanda," Amy answered.  
  
Traci looked at the photo more, smiling. She had wished that she had any pet that was so adorable. She had heard about Captain Kirk's fiasco with the tribbles on Space Station K-7. In addition, Cadet Third Class Nog had told her about a tribble breakout on Deep Space Nine, which was nearly as bad as what had happened to the first starship Enterprise, over one hundred years ago.  
  
"Traci," said Amy, "why don't you unpack, while I get some exercise in the ship's gymnasium."  
  
"Sounds okay to me. Just don't forget what the captain said, about meeting with him to discuss our mission," Traci reminded her.  
  
"How can I forget? I was told that by Admirals Brand, Hill, Soval, as well as two captains," she replied, "so tell me how I can forget something like that?!"  
  
Traci just shook her head, and rubbed the spots along her temples, in order to relax herself from the apprehension she felt coming over her.  
  
"Have a good time, Amy," was all she could think of saying.  
  
"I will. Maybe tomorrow, time permitting, we can get in some time on the gymnastics floor," suggested Amy.  
  
"Sounds like fun. Just don't kick me if I manage to beat you again on the unevens," Traci said with a rather suggestive smile.  
  
Amy just frowned before leaving their quarters.  
  
Traci sat down by the replicator and ordered a steaming cup of tarkalean tea and planned her schedule for the next couple of days, not forgetting her new duties as first officer of the Hornet.  
  
"This will be an interesting challenge for me," she said to herself. "I'm looking forward to what this has to offer."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
After a rather rigorous workout, Amy chose to make her first captain's log entry.  
  
"Captain's personal log, stardate 52153.8. This is to be my first of several log entries to provide a record of the Hornet's mission while under my command as well as what happens as far as personal feelings with myself and those shared by the crew. The cadets have already received new uniforms that match those that the officers of the Hornet wear, which is good. They are very comfortable. Perhaps when we get up and into space, I won't be as scared as I am now. I've gone over every last part of the Hornet's specifications, and find her to be a very worthy vessel. Heaven knows she can stand her ground in combat. From what I was told by Commander Terry Mathison, Captain Enor's first officer, this ship has seen more combat than a full squadron of runabouts can even begin to handle. I seriously hope we do well here, yet I cannot shake off this feeling that we'll end up seeing a sample of combat like what this ship has already seen....."  
  
Amy contemplated her log entry, before telling the computer to save it under her new directory for the Hornet. She read over the Hornet's abilities, and about jumped out of her skin when she found out the ship has a phase cloak, which according to her reading on Admiral Pressman's case of a cloaking device on the USS Pegasus, was in violation of the Treaty of Algeron. She hoped that maybe Captain Enor will explain that one to her.  
  
"Computer, access schematics on this.... quantum slipstream drive, please," she asked.  
  
"Level six or above voice authorization required to access requested information," said the feminine voice of the computer.  
  
She recited her command code to the computer, like she had in practice. "Authorization Yates, gamma one-zero-five-seven alpha."  
  
"Authorization accepted," replied the computer.  
  
On the monitor, came another schematic of the Hornet, but showing mostly the engine room as well as the warp nacelles and, surprisingly, the main deflector dish. Amy looked at this in awe as a recording of Captain Enor's voice was speaking to her.  
  
"The Hornet's quantum slipstream drive is a very experimental new form of propulsion. It is capable of taking a starship at a speed that is approximately one hundred times the maximum warp velocity of our fastest vessel," his voice said, as an exterior view of the Hornet appeared on the screen. "Specify what further information you want to know from the following: engineering logs, practical use of slipstream technology, performance of the quantum slipstream drive aboard the Hornet, modifications made to the Hornet to accommodate the slipstream drive, repeat introduction, or continue guided tutorial."  
  
Amy paused, uncertain about what to choose. "Oh...... Let's continue the tutorial," she finally said.  
  
"The Hornet is the first known vessel in the Alpha Quadrant to ever explore the possibility of slipstream technology. Captain Picard of the Enterprise has looked over the specifications of the slipstream drive and believes it is related to the transwarp drive in use by the cybernetic lifeforms known simply as the Borg. Just like the Bajoran wormhole is capable of transporting ships between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants, the slipstream drive, although lengthening the travel time, will do the same. It is estimated that a vessel that has entered slipstream drive, can travel the seventy thousand light-year distance to the Gamma Quadrant in approximately two and a half months. Although this hasn't been proven fact, it is likely a starship crew can make it that long without too much of a problem....."  
  
His explanations of the slipstream drive continued for a solid thirty minutes, until Amy decided it was time to stop for the day.  
  
"Save my place in the tutorial and end," she told the computer.  
  
After the computer confirmed her place to be saved, she went into her closet, after Traci had left for the bridge, and got into her new uniform. She stood in front of the mirror and admired how pretty she looked wearing the newer uniform. She also did her hair so she looked extremely presentable, and left her quarters for the bridge, to meet with Captain Enor about the current mission at hand.  
  
When she got to the nearest turbolift, Amy found herself face to face with her counterpart on the Hornet.  
  
"Captain!" she said, startled, and went to her familiar attention stance.  
  
"At ease. I'm sorry if I scared you, captain. I'm running a little behind schedule myself," he explained, hoping he could make her feel better and not so scared. "I want to go over the mission with you personally, then with the cadets along with my senior officers in about ten minutes. Do you think you can 'round up' your comrades by then?" he asked rather jokingly.  
  
"Aye sir. Permission to speak freely?" she replied.  
  
"Always," he said to her. "Computer, halt turbolift."  
  
The turbolift smoothly came to a stop, just a few levels below the bridge.  
  
"Sir, I will not pretend to fully understand the seriousness of what is going on here, but I am curious as to why this ship has a cloaking device, which is supposed to be banned by the Treaty of Algeron. Why is that?"  
  
He thought for a minute.  
  
"I'll tell you, but it's confidential and what I am going to tell you, is not to be discussed with any of the other cadets or the Hornet's crew," he replied.  
  
Amy nodded, showing she understood.  
  
"During the recent Klingon war we had, which I still think was a complete accident, Starfleet Intelligence began work on a way to get ships to the battlefields without the enemy seeing them coming. The Hornet was the testbed for this new project, and we've had a lot of success with it. Now, with the war with the Dominion, it is my understanding that Starfleet wants to equip more ships with this cloaking technology, introduced by one, Eric Pressman. It is believed that this will keep the Dominion from seeing our fleet deployments, and thus giving us a serious tactical advantage, since they won't even see us coming. We've got hopes that this will give us the momentum we need to drive the Dominion back to the Gamma Quadrant, and hopefully, allow us to make peace. Granted, at the moment, peace doesn't appear to be anywhere in sight, but that is a long-term goal of this."  
  
Amy nodded. "Ok.... So how far are they in this project of equipping ships?"  
  
"This is only rumor now. I've heard that the Enterprise-E, the Sutherland, and the Excalibur have been outfitted with these cloaks, but I cannot confirm or deny that. I just received new authorization codes last week, with no explanation as to why," he said. "My guess so far is, that it has to do with some other projects going on, that are way in the middle of what I call 'Top Secret Hell.'"  
  
"I see," she said, smiling at the nickname.  
  
"Is there anything else, captain?" he asked.  
  
"Yes sir. While I was getting my physical, I heard a couple of people in sickbay talking about setting up all seven cargo bays for flooding with some sort of fluidic compound. May I ask what that's about?"  
  
"Ahhh....... That has to do with our mission. We'll continue that in my ready room," he said. "Computer, resume turbolift."  
  
The lift started moving again, and stopped at the bridge. As the doors opened, Amy saw that her 'troop' of cadets were already working with the Hornet's bridge officers, and would continue to do so throughout their mission. Lieutenant junior grade Kell Perim was at the helm, instructing another Trill cadet about the quirks of the Hornet's navigational system. Terry Mathison, the Hornet's first officer, was walking around with Traci, talking to her about some things. Kelly Mathison stood at the tactical station with a young, yet beautiful Bajoran woman, pointing to the different indicators and explaining their functions. Ensign Jason Shepard was at the operations station, trying to show a young Trill female what to do and when, as if he were a 'know-it-all.' The bridge itself was identical to the holographic representation of the bridge of the USS Voyager, during the dedication ceremony that was broadcasted on all Starfleet and Federation channels, just five years before. The main viewscreen at the front of the bridge showed the Starfleet Academy complex, which was directly in front of the Hornet, yet at a distance of approximately twenty-five kilometers. Captain Enor strode off of the turbolift onto the bridge, and escorted Captain Yates to his ready room.  
  
"Can I get you something?" he asked her.  
  
"Tarkalean tea, extra hot and extra sweet, please," she replied.  
  
Chris went over to the replicator and told that to the computer, and also ordered a strong herbal tea for himself. The replicator's transport chamber instantly came to life, humming and lights swirled on the pad as the two drinks materialized. Once the cycle was complete, he took both drinks, and handed the hotter of the two to Amy, along with a small, yet cool towel, so she would not burn herself. She smiled and took the towel with her, and sat down with him on the couch, by the window, as a couple of birds landed on the edge of the windowsill outside. Chris took a sip of his tea, then turned to Amy and began to tell her about the mission at hand.  
  
"First off, I will confirm what you heard about the cargo bays. In essence, we are going on a terraforming mission to the moons of Trill, in order to find a suitable location for the increasing surplus of Trill symbionts. The underground breeding pools are over-crowded, and thus need to be partially relieved. It is estimated that when the next breeding cycle comes, somewhere around twenty-five percent of the symbiont offspring will die, just because of not enough room for more to live."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...." said Amy. "Are you saying that these things have just gone into breeding overdrive?"  
  
"Not quite, but it sounded more like tribbles than symbionts," he told her. "The Symbiosis Commission knows of this, and called the only Trill starship captain to see if there's a way to keep from losing so many symbionts. The problem right now is, that too many are not mature enough for Joining."  
  
"I've only heard about complications with what is called an 'improper Joining' with consequences of possible rejection and likely permanent psychological damage to both host and symbiont, but I've never heard anything about the symbionts needing to reach a maturity level prior to implantation with the first host," she explained, "but, then again, I've never completely understood all the nuances of symbionts or Joining." She took a drink of her tea, and almost burned herself.  
  
"I get the picture, and I'm not trying to force heavy research on you. All I'm doing, is simply trying to give you a little background information. I can tell you nearly anything you want to know about being Joined, since I am a host."  
  
Amy looked a little puzzled for a couple of minutes, then decided to ask one of her questions in another way. "Sir, are we planning on setting up liquid tanks for the symbionts so we can transport between the actual pools and the ship?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what I hope we can do, and then post security around all entry points to the cargo bays, for the symbionts' protection," he said.  
  
"That sounds easy enough. When do we begin?" Amy asked  
  
"Just as soon as we confer with the senior staff and your crew members," he told her.  
  
They finished their drinks and proceeded to the observation lounge, where Captain Enor explained the situation to the senior officers and to the cadets.  
  
Lieutenant Perim was speechless over what was said, sharing the captain's reaction when he first found out. Doctor Alyssa Ogawa found herself only able to think about saving the symbionts at any cost. Commander Kelly Mathison proposed using the alpha security teams around the cargo bays, which the captain approved on the spot. Cadet first officer, Traci McLoughlin couldn't utter a word without crying at the prospect of losing so many of the sacred lifeforms that she respected so much.  
  
"Sir, we'll have those tanks ready by the time we get there," said Commander Cory Mathews, the Hornet's chief engineer. "If we have to, I'll pull all the engineering teams together on this one," she said.  
  
"Good. We have a three day journey ahead of us, if we can hold maximum warp. I intend to make sure we can get this task done, so we can save a lot of those symbionts, if we can't save them all," he said, solemnly. "Dismissed."  
  
The senior officers as well as the cadets stood and left the observation lounge, and went onto the bridge, assuming their stations. Captains Enor and Yates went to the bridge as well. Captain Enor sat down in the captain's chair, and opened the shipwide intercom channel.  
  
"All hands," he began, "this is Captain Enor. Upon entering Earth orbit, I will be turning command over to Cadet Captain Amy Yates, for a training cruise." He closed the intercom channel. "Commander Mathison, signal landing control. USS Hornet ready for lift-off," he said to Kelly Mathison.  
  
"Aye sir," she replied, working the tactical console.  
  
"USS Hornet, lift-off clearance granted. Your escape vector is clear of all traffic. Have a safe voyage, Captain Enor," came the dockmaster's voice.  
  
"Hornet acknowledges," he replied to the dockmaster. "Blue Alert. Set inertial dampeners to flight configuration. Stand by on atmospheric thrusters and impulse engines," Enor told the bridge crew.  
  
The bridge lights dimmed and a low pitched tone sounded, as light blue lights flashed where the red ones would when at Red Alert. This alert status told the crew to prepare for either ground lift-off or surface landings.  
  
"All decks report Condition Blue, captain," Kelly Mathison said, from tactical.  
  
"Very well. Lieutenant Perim, take us up gently. Atmospheric thrusters only, and put us into Earth orbit," Enor ordered.  
  
"Aye sir. Atmospheric thrusters firing," she replied as she entered the commands.  
  
As the thrusters fired, the Hornet shuddered slightly as the landing struts began to come up off of the landing platform. The Hornet's ascent went so smoothly after the initial jolt that nobody onboard could feel it. About midway up, the landing struts came back into the hull and the special doors hiding them slid shut.  
  
"Orbit in 30 seconds, sir," said Perim.  
  
The Hornet kept gaining altitude, and went up to where they could see the tops of the clouds. Amy gasped at this sight, in pure awe, as did the other cadets. As the stars suddenly came into view, Enor thought that this would be soon enough for him to go to his ready room, but rather decided to remain in the "big chair," as it is called by many starship commanders.  
  
"Entering standard orbit, captain," announced Perim, from the helm.  
  
"Stand down from Blue Alert. I am now turning command over to Captain Yates," Enor said as he got up from his seat.  
  
The blue lights stopped flashing, and the bridge lights came back up to full illumination.  
  
Amy came around and nodded, an evident gesture of saying "Thank you." She then turned her attention to the helm.  
  
"Take us out of the system, Emony," she said to Perim's trainee.  
  
"Aye captain," came her reply.  
  
The Hornet's impulse engines came to life and the ship went smoothly out of orbit, taking a trajectory out past Pluto, and out of the Terran System. Cadet Emony Tzjan plotted the course on the main viewer, so they could see the intended course.  
  
"When we've cleared the system, lay in a course for Trill. Warp seven," came Amy's next order.  
  
Emony nodded and went back to focusing on the rather touchy navigational controls that the Hornet had.  
  
Captain Enor chose that moment to head off to his ready room, and do some archaeological research he had been putting off for so long. When he entered his ready room, his monitor was beeping at him, saying he had an incoming call. He strode over to his desk and read the information about the caller.  
  
It read: "To Captan C. Enor. Commanding officer USS Hornet NCC- 74657. From: Commander Star Madison, Earth Orbital Starbase. Code: Personal."  
  
That surprised him, but seeing it came from one of his close friends made him feel better. He sat down in his chair behind his desk, and opened the channel. A young human female's face replaced the transmission information.  
  
"Hi Star," he said in recognition. "How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm just fine. A little too fine. I've been trying to find out for you why you got all those new authorization codes, since I got a similar set just yesterday," she explained.  
  
"Let me guess... No explanation in the transmission as to the function of these codes?"  
  
"Not so much as a hint. But, I will say one thing. This is the first time I've ever heard of a "Delta" command code," she said.  
  
"You aren't kidding there. We're in the same shuttle as far as that goes," he said, trying to make a joke of it. "Maybe it has something to do with this mission the Hornet was assigned on, mostly at the request of the Symbiosis Commission. Maybe we'll both find out soon. In the meantime, if you somehow manage to figure out why we both got those codes, and their purpose, contact me on a secure frequency."  
  
"I promise. You'll be on the top of the priority list," she said.  
  
"If you want to join us for this mission, you still have enough time to catch up to us with a runabout. We'll be leaving the Terran System within twenty minutes," he suggested.  
  
"I wish I could," she replied, sadly. "I was asked up here with a group of engineers, and still no idea what for. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you later, after you get back from Trill."  
  
"I hope so too," he said, apologetically. "Enor out."  
  
The transmision channel closed, and he went over to the replicator.  
  
"Ichoberry juice, ten degrees Celsius," he said to the replicator computer.  
  
In an instant, his requested drink appeared on the pad. He took it, and started to sort through the endless pile of PADDs on his desk and on the coffee table. The first set had to do with crew assignments, which he approved most of. The second set had information from his recently received transmissions from Starfleet Command, his mother, his friends around the quadrant, and one that caught his eye that was from his fiance.  
  
"Computer, what was the time index and stardate of sending for this message from Commander Williams?" he asked.  
  
"Stardate 52151. Time index 2147 hours," came the reply.  
  
"Thank you," he said to the computer. He then tapped his commbadge. "Enor to Mathison. Get me a secure channel to Deep Space Nine, please," he said, hoping it got through to the Mathison at tactical.  
  
"Aye sir," came Kelly's reply. After a brief pause, she said, "Channel open."  
  
"Thank you commander. Enor out."  
  
He then turned on the monitor sitting on his desk. After he entered his security clearance, he was able to get through to DS9.  
  
"Deep Space Nine. This is first officer Kira Nerys."  
  
"Colonel, good to see you," he said, in greeting.  
  
"It's good to see you too, captain. What can I do for you?" she asked.  
  
"Is Commander Williams available, colonel?" he replied with another question.  
  
"I can find out. Stand by," she said as she went over to another console nearby in the operations center of the station. She then tapped her Bajoran communicator and said, "Kira to Odo."  
  
"Odo here," came the reply of a partially deep voice. "What can I do for you Kira?"  
  
"Odo, have you seen Commander Tatie Williams yet today, for your security rounds?" she asked  
  
"Not yet. But then again, the rounds start in half an hour," he said. "May I ask why?"  
  
"She's got a call, and she's not responding to my signal," she explained.  
  
"Well then. I'll probably be better off looking in Quark's. She seemed to take a liking to the bar," he told her.  
  
"Thank you constable. Kira out."  
  
She came back over to the transmission screen, where Enor's face looked on, with a puzzled expression.  
  
"I suppose I can just call later," he said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.  
  
"I'll tell her you called, sir. She's due to turn in her Starfleet Security reports to the constable, Commander Worf, myself, and Captain Sisko by 1400 hours," she informed him.  
  
"Thank you major. Eh..... Colonel. I am having a hard time remembering you got promoted," he said to her.  
  
"You aren't the only one. Captain Sisko caught himself after calling me by my former militia rank of major, while at a senior staff meeting just this morning," she said, on the verge of laughing.  
  
"I see. Well, let's hope I can avoid another slip of the tongue."  
  
"May the Prophets help you remember," she said, almost as a prayer.  
  
The transmission ended, and Enor thought to himself for a while, before heading off to his quarters to prepare for a special concert that evening.  
  
On the bridge, there seemed to be a little confusion on Cadet Leila Quipiry's part, regarding what is done at ops.  
  
"No, no, no..." complained Ensign Shepard, who was trying to train her, but was being a total and complete idiot about it. "Decks two through seven are where the crew quarters are. Everyone is issued a commbadge here, so we can keep track of the crew, as well as their children..." He muttered to himself, "I'm going to get it from the Mathisons for not being able to find their daughter who keeps wondering through the ship..."  
  
Terry was walking by the ops station and thought he caught that part, and figured it would be a good idea to go see if Kathy was okay.  
  
However, at this time, young Kathy Mathison had found her way out of her parents' quarters, and had found herself with Jeffrey Kallandra, son of Captain Enor and Commander Williams, and were in the mess hall on deck two. There was a bright flash from just outside the windows, as the Hornet made the jump into warp drive.  
  
On the outside of the ship, the upper two nacelles went up while the lower two stayed where they were. The field grills flared with a bright blue pulse and the Hornet sped forward as she had exited Earth's solar system.  
  
Jeff and Kathy looked out the windows in awe, as it was the first time either of them had seen that spectacular aurora-like display of pastel lights.  
  
"Pretty!" squealed Kathy. She jumped as she had said that.  
  
  
  
Deep Space Nine was a hard place to keep security on. Commander Tatie Williams strolled down the Promenade with her favorite phaser at her side - a Type-two Starfleet-issue personal hand phaser to which her initials and those of her fiance had been engraved just above the power setting monitor. She strode down toward the tailor's shop, owned by the only "friendly" Cardassian in the quadrant, the one called Garak. She admired the clothing on a sterling silver rack just outside the shop.  
  
"I think Chris would like to see me in this..." she whispered to herself as she was feeling the material of an evening gown made of one of the softest fabrics she had ever encountered. She then saw a bikini, and thought about how much she liked to swim. "Definitely this," she commented, smiling to herself.  
  
"Can I help you?" asked a very friendly voice.  
  
Tatie jumped and turned to the sound of the voice. She found herself face to face with Garak.  
  
She pointed to the gown. "What material is this?" she asked very politely.  
  
"Why, my dear, that is Tholian silk. One of the best fabrics to make ladieswear from," he replied.  
  
"It's so pretty! How much, Mister um......?" she asked.  
  
"My name is Garak. Plain, simple Garak. And for you, my dear, that will be ten strips of latinum," the Cardassian replied.  
  
"That's a fair price. What about the bikini? What material and how much?" she asked.  
  
"That is a Risian fabric, the name of which is unpronounceable, even to me," he explained. "And that is on sale, since there isn't much traffic to Risa from here. Three strips, and it would compliment your Trill markings," he suggested.  
  
"I think you're right. What else do I need to do before I make a purchase?" she asked.  
  
"Normally, I'd get the individual's measurements and make alterations if necessary, to accommodate the person's appearance, measurements, and most often, for the favorite color of the individual in question," replied Garak.  
  
"I see," she said. "Well, I guess I need to get measured for that, so I can talk my sweetheart into a trip to Risa."  
  
"A very good destination, my dear," commented Garak. "Well, if you would kindly come with me so we can fit you for these lovely pieces..."  
  
Garak led the way into the tailor's shop, and went over to a shelving unit and produced a small Cardassian scanning device, which he had modified for getting measurements for clothing. Tatie followed, a little scared, but excited about the clothes. It was the first time ever she had been fitted for clothing by a Cardassian, but he seemed friendly enough to her.  
  
* * * 


	4. Bumpy Ride

CHAPTER 4  
  
Captain Enor went around roaming the Hornet. They were cruising along at warp seven with a heading for his homeworld. He decided to head down to sickbay, since he was due for one thing he absolutely hated with a passion -- his monthly physical examination, along with a check-up on the symbiont. When he entered sickbay, Doctor Ogawa was already prepared, along with Molly, who would do the hands-on examination of the symbiont.  
  
"Alyssa, I can't avoid you for anything, huh?" he asked, jokingly.  
  
"No, you can't," she said. "I've also had Molly check Lieutenant Caroghey over, for before we reach Trill, so we can proceed at her discretion."  
  
"She got a clean slate, sir," said Molly, referring to the lieutenant's physical condition.  
  
"Any word on which symbiont?" Enor asked.  
  
"Not a hint, but we were told it will be unbelievably a first host scenario!" exclaimed Molly, in a very suprised manner. She was also very hyper at the thought.  
  
"Wow!!!" exclaimed the captain, matching his sister's surprise. "First me, two years ago, and now one of my own crew within two days from now. Unbelievable! This calls for a celebration later tonight."  
  
"I'll be there," said Molly and Alyssa in unison.  
  
Alyssa continued, "But you still aren't getting out of your physical like you did for the last two months. Doctor's orders."  
  
Chris just grinned and replied, "Aye sir."  
  
All three of them laughed from that, since it came out in a funny way.  
  
He relented and removed his uniform jacket, leaving the red turtleneck on, and laid down on the surgical biobed.  
  
"Just don't you dare turn that holographic doctor on. He's a rude person, and has the worst bedside manner this side of the Romulan border," he warned.  
  
"Alright. No EMH this time," promised Ogawa.  
  
A sigh of relief escaped Enor's lips, a silent thank you. The EMH was dreaded by the entire crew of the Hornet, because he was rude, not personal with anyone at all, only gave diagnoses and hypos when needed, and always insisted he be turned off when someone left sickbay.  
  
In the mess hall, Jeff and Kathy had gotten two glasses of orange juice cocktail. The mess hall itself was rather quiet, except for all kinds of sizzling from the kitchen area, where the chefs were preparing dinner for the crew. Kathy thought she could smell her favorite dish, spaghetti with meatballs, cooking. Jeff, who was transfixed on the view outside, just sipped his drink, making slurping noises as he did, and fumbled with the commbadge his father gave him and engraved the Trill child's initials on the side of the gold plating.  
  
"Do you smell something?" asked Kathy, to Jeff.  
  
Jeff sniffed away from his drink, and noticed the same smell of their favorite suppertime dish.  
  
"Spaghetti!" he squealed  
  
"Right," she said, heading towards the kitchen area.  
  
"Okay Kathy, you know better than that," came a familiar voice.  
  
Kathy looked to the sound of the voice, and saw her father walking towards her and Jeff.  
  
"Uh oh! Got caught.." she said sadly. "Daddy, can I please have spaghetti now?" she asked as Terry picked her up.  
  
"When your mother's shift is over, then we'll see," he told her. He then noticed Jeff. "Do you think your father would let you tag along, Jeff?" he asked.  
  
"Me go check real fast," he said in a hyper voice and ran out of the mess hall for the turbolift.  
  
Terry turned to his daughter.  
  
"Now how in the galaxy did you manage to break the codes again, angel?" he asked.  
  
"I didn't," she said, handing him a tricorder that was in their quarters. "This let me out."  
  
"Very funny..." said her father. "You know better than to go roaming the ship without either your mom's permission or mine."  
  
"Sowwy daddy," she said, rubbing her eyes and was about to cry.  
  
"Come on. I guess I can get you something that should cheer you up, but not a word to mommy, okay?" he said.  
  
"Okay," she said and stopped rubbing her eyes.  
  
Terry took her over to the nearest replicator. Kathy aimed her face at the control panel.  
  
"Tell the computer what you want, Kathy," said her father.  
  
Kathy almost shouted it. "Spaghetti and meatballs!"  
  
"Specify style," said the computer.  
  
"American, twentieth century," Terry said.  
  
"Specify size," came the computer's female voice again, asking.  
  
"Child size," he told the replicator.  
  
"Specify hot or chilled," came the computer's voice yet again.  
  
"HOT!" screamed Kathy, becoming very annoyed at the computer.  
  
The computer chirped some, and then the replicator came alive with a swirl of colored lights, as her food appeared on a plate, complete with a side of garlic bread and parsley on the side for a decorative touch. Kathy struggled to grab her food even before the food and plate materialized fully.  
  
"Wow! You must be hungry," commented Terry, more to himself but in regards to his daughter's reaction.  
  
She just nodded extremely fast, and once her items materialized fully, Terry picked up the rather warm plate, and took Kathy over to a booth by the windows. When Terry let her down, they heard a soft murmur under the table. Kathy took a look.  
  
"Jeff! What are you doing under there?" she squealed in surprise.  
  
"Shhhhh. Hiding," he whispered.  
  
The commander looked under the table as well, and when he saw Jeff, he pulled him out gently and helped him up onto a chair that was just a little to high for Jeff to reach on his own. However, by this time, Kathy was already attacking her plate of spaghetti, thanks to her incredibly voracious appetite.  
  
"I love you daddy," came her muffled voice while she was eating.  
  
"I love you too Kathy," he said and kissed her forehead.  
  
* * *  
  
As the sleek shape of the starship Hornet flew through space, Captain Enor sat in his quarters, running over a musical score that he had been working on for the past three hours. He kept playing it on the keyboard in there, set for organ tone, and for some reason, he wasn't satisfied with it.  
  
"Ok. Computer, Earth orchestral accompaniment in key of C major, from the measure nine," he said.  
  
The computer chirped, and there were clarinets, flutes, trumpets, and a lively string section playing with him.  
  
"Computer. Pause playback," he said, noting something wrong in the music.  
  
The computer complied and instantly, the music stopped.  
  
"Computer, replay recording from measure fifty-two and end at measure sixty-eight," he ordered, hoping he could spot the mistake.  
  
When the music started again, including his own from recording, he cringed when there were three conflicting chords in measure sixty-three.  
  
"Computer, pause playback."  
  
The computer complied very quickly.  
  
"That should be an F seven chord instead of a B flat minor. Computer, replay measure sixty-three with an F seven chord for organ instead of a B flat minor chord," he instructed.  
  
The computer chirped and then the music played again. This time, it sounded better, but there was still something wrong. Enor felt it by instinct.  
  
"Computer, play the pick-up into measure sixty-five, and stop at the end of sixty-seven."  
  
As the music started again, he heard the problem.  
  
"Computer, pause playback," he quickly said.  
  
The music stopped, but there was another chirp, this time from his door.  
  
"Come in," he said to whoever was at the door. He then turned back to the music. "What chord would make that sound right?" the captain wondered.  
  
"Maybe if you were to try a C sharp instead of the E flat," came a familiar voice.  
  
The captain turned around, startled, and was looking at his cousin and chief navigator, Kell Perim.  
  
"Kell!" he said in surprise. "What brings you down here?"  
  
"Music for one, but primarily to talk about my trainee," the young Trill lieutenant replied.  
  
"Ok," said Chris as he got up from where he was and met her on the couch in his quarters. "What seems to be the problem with Cadet Tzjan?"  
  
"That's just it. She's got nothing wrong, except for the complaints she's had about how touchy the navigational controls are. It's already made me have to go see Doctor Ogawa once for space sickness, and then I took over for her, when she managed to put us into a flight upside-down. I know she's never handled a starship's helm before, but I know for a fact they teach about how to keep a steady profile for a ship when in motion," she said, with a hint of anger in her voice.  
  
"Ok.. She might just need some practice on the holodeck. I can arrange some practice time on Holodeck Two for her, this afternoon. I can tell the computer to give her a picture on the console to show the Hornet's orientation in space," he offered.  
  
"That might be part of what she needs," said Kell.  
  
"Alright, then you can talk to her about it, or I can. It's up to you," he said.  
  
"I think I should. It's would probably lessen the impact if I told her," said Kell.  
  
"Ok. Then it's your project, lieutenant."  
  
He was cut off as the Hornet rocked with a surprisingly strong jolt. He and Kell raced to the bridge, where the crew were already working on figuring out the problem.  
  
"Report?" inquired Captain Yates.  
  
"We've just found our way into an ion storm," said Ensign Shepard in reply.  
  
"Shields to full. Red alert," came the order from Captain Enor, instinctively.  
  
The lights dimmed and bright red lights flashed near many of the consoles on the bridge, and on the bulkheads. The klaxon also blared in time with the flashing of the lights.  
  
"Mister Shepard, how long did you see that storm before we entered it?" asked Yates.  
  
"Maybe less than five seconds. Our warp field does limit sensor resolution at higher speeds," he replied apologetically.  
  
Captain Enor strode around the bridge, and looked at the viewscreen. The swirling masses of blue was spectacular, but the jolts that hit his ship didn't make it seem that pretty.  
  
"Remodulate the shields if you have to, and adjust the inertial dampeners to give us a smoother ride out of here," he said to the tactical trainee, Cadet Rekaara Talouri. He then turned to Cadet Tzjan at the helm. "Ease us out of here, three-quarter impulse power."  
  
"Aye captain," came her reply as she entered the commands into the helm.  
  
The Hornet's shields took a pounding, and it sounded like a thunderstorm inside the ship. With the engines going, the Hornet took a route out of the storm that was quick, but not easy, as they were going against the storm currents.  
  
"Full impulse power," Enor said, standing next to the helm, using the nearby railing for support so he wasn't thrown around the bridge like two of the cadets were.  
  
The Hornet got pummeled a couple more times before she broke out of the storm.  
  
"That's like an Earth hurricane," muttered Kelly Mathison, to herself, "except about twenty times stronger, or more."  
  
"Damage report Commander," Enor asked.  
  
"Shields are down to thirty percent, and we have some buckling on the nacelles. Sickbay reports that five were hurt, but none were serious. Other than that, we're in good shape," she replied.  
  
Chris muttered to himself, "If you are going to enter an ion storm, do it at impulse power, and not at warp speed."  
  
"All hands, submit damage and casualty reports to myself, Commander Mathison, Captain Yates, and Commander McLoughlin," announced Captain Enor over the shipwide intercom. "Stand down from alert status."  
  
The bridge lights came back up and duties were resumed. Amy soon found out what 'down under' in reports meant, as she got a shipwide set of reports on all damage and injured crew members. Three lateral sensor relays were fused and had to be replaced, the nacelle pylons needed to be reinforced with the structural integrity fields, power relays to five shield generators needed to be overhauled, and ion particles needed to be vented from the warp and impulse engine exhaust manifolds. All in all, she felt like she was totally unprepared for all of that.  
  
"Resume course and speed as soon as we're back up to full engine capacity," came Amy's next order.  
  
"Aye captain," said Emony, from the helm.  
  
Kell whispered to Emony. "I have arranged some practice time for you on the holodeck, if you want to join me when we hit the next duty shift."  
  
"I don't know... If it's because of that problem with holding attitude control of the ship properly, then I probably should," she relented.  
  
"I know this much. You gave a few of your friends, including some of the officers, a case of space sickness, and this little exercise can help you," Kell explained. "Come on. The sooner we get that practice for you, the easier it will be to handle those touchy controls."  
  
"Alright. I'll meet you at Holodeck Two when I'm off duty," said Tzjan in reply.  
  
"Ok. I'll finish setting up the program," said Perim, and then she left the bridge.  
  
After about ten minutes, the Hornet resumed its course, with the warp drive running at full capacity.  
  
"ETA until we reach Trill," asked Enor.  
  
"About fifty-two hours at present speed, sir," came Lieutenant Perim's reply before she left the bridge.  
  
Kell entered the lift and the doors snapped shut. She told the computer she wanted Deck Seven, where Holodeck Two was at. Upon reaching Deck Seven, she went out of the turbolift and went to the program terminal just outside the large doors to the holodeck.  
  
"Computer, I'd like to have a simulation of the Hornet's bridge," she said to the terminal.  
  
The computer chirped. "Please specify added parameters," came the computer's feminine voice.  
  
Kell touched the control to open the holodeck doors, so she could do just that. When the doors slid open, she stepped onto a holographic representation of the bridge of the Hornet, in all its lovely detail, complete with the recent decorations made by the school students on the ship, which included the Trill symbol just above the aft bridge consoles, the Starfleet insignia on the floor, and the Trill tapestry that hung on the captain's and first officer's chairs. There was also a painting of a symbiont on the door to the captain's ready room, and had Trill writing under Enor's name, translating it from Federation standard.  
  
"Computer, make a secondary screen as part of the helm station, to show the ship's attitude for navigation," Perim requested.  
  
The computer chirped and a secondary monitor attached next to the helm station appeared, showing a starboard view of the Hornet on the top, then a top view of the Hornet on the bottom. On the side, she could see a front view of the ship.  
  
"Computer, adjust attitude monitor size. Make it larger to show any changes in vessel attitude," she ordered.  
  
The computer was swift in carrying out that action as the screen vanished, then reappeared, but larger this time.  
  
"Okay. Computer, save program as Perim Navigational Training, Program One," she instructed.  
  
The computer chirped and replied, "Program stored."  
  
"Computer, exit."  
  
At once, the holodeck arch and doors appeared, replacing the bulkhead and doors that led to the observation lounge. The doors had opened with their usual loud 'whoosh,' and Kell swiftly exited the holodeck.  
  
"Computer, end program."  
  
At that instant, the hologrid appeared as the bridge of the Hornet dissolved and in essence, turned into the hologrid, bare and empty.  
  
Captain Enor sat in his ready room studying the archaeological expedition mission he had planned for his upcoming trip to Hanoran Two, with the Enterprise. He was hoping to get there before the monsoon season hit. In fact, that was to be the next mission after the terraforming trip home for Enor. For the young and bright captain, he had honors under his belt already, such as being the first male Trill in Starfleet, the first Trill starship captain and currently the only one, and being Joined with his symbiont at the equivalent of eighteen Earth years of age, younger than anyone on record back on Trill. In the background, there was a soothing concerto playing from Trill, that he enjoyed listening to, and it calmed him down when he wanted to concentrate on something important, such as the archaeological survey plan.  
  
"Computer, what was the Enterprise's approximate estimate as to how long this survey will last?" he asked.  
  
"Three weeks, five days," came the reply.  
  
The captain tapped his commbadge.  
  
"Enor to Mathison, get me a channel to the Enterprise, please."  
  
"Aye sir. Channel open," she said as the communication channel bleeped on.  
  
"Enterprise. Riker here," came the audio reply.  
  
"Commander, it's Chris Enor. Is Captain Picard available to talk?" he asked as he entered the request for visual ship-to-ship communications.  
  
Commander William Riker's face, still clean shaven, appeared on the screen at the other side of his ready room.  
  
"Yes. He's available for once. Stand by," he said.  
  
The comm channel was rerouted to Picard's ready room, and his face appeared on the screen.  
  
"Greetings captain. What can I do for you?" came Captain Picard's cheerful voice.  
  
"Jean-Luc, it's been a while. I was calling to see if we could finish the plans for the survey on Hanoran Two."  
  
"Ahhh.... I see. Well, that starts in about a month, since they are in the monsoon season now, unless you want to go and swim," said Picard, with a chuckle.  
  
"Personally, I think Enor has done enough swimming for both of us, and believe me when I tell you that it has worn me out," he said, referring to his own internal symbiont, and patted his upper abdomen gently to emphasize his point.  
  
"I see. Well, as a first host, according to one of my officers, it is a strange and enchanting experience to feel a lifeform of another species moving inside your own body," he offered.  
  
"Yes. Just like how Kelly Mathison described what it is like to be pregnant," Enor said with a chuckle.  
  
"I see," replied Picard with a smile. "Well, the Enterprise will be there for the survey. Will the Hornet be as well?"  
  
"Unless we end up in some bizarre twist of fate, we will be there too," said Enor firmly.  
  
"Thank you for the time to talk, and I look forward to the survey. Picard out."  
  
Enor smiled to himself as the comm channel closed and his viewer went dark.  
  
"This will be fun. Jadzia and I had gone on that dig on Earth where we found all of those nineteenth century artifacts," he thought to himself.  
  
He tapped his communication badge.  
  
"Computer, get me the readouts for the Hanoran Two survey mission."  
  
The computer beeped and the maps instantly came up on his monitor. 


	5. Friendly chat

CHAPTER 5  
  
Tatie Williams was just settling down, after purchasing the clothes that Garak had fitted her for, and quite well, when she realized just how hungry she was. She went down to the Promenade to the Ferengi's bar, with the intent on trying some of the local Bajoran foods. She already had her food at a table and had a forkful of food to her lips when she heard the unfamiliar intercom chirp for Deep Space Nine.  
  
"Kira to Commander Williams."  
  
She muttered to herself, "At least on the Hornet, I could eat in peace..."  
  
She then sighed and laid her fork back down as she tapped her commbadge with her other hand.  
  
"Williams here," she said, "what can I do for you colonel?"  
  
She had then picked up her cup to take a drink when Kira's voice came back.  
  
"Commander, Captain Enor had called for you earlier. He asked me to relay that to you."  
  
Her cup of tea came down from her lips so quickly that some splashed onto the table and onto the floor, missing her plate by sheer luck.  
  
"What all did he say?" she asked joyfully.  
  
"He just said he wanted to speak with you, and that the Hornet is en route to Trill for a terraforming mission," came Kira's reply.  
  
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "I never thought he'd want to go there for a while. Can you get me a channel to the Hornet as soon as possible?"  
  
"Whenever you are ready for it commander," Kira replied.  
  
"In about ten minutes. I need to talk with Commander Worf and Odo real fast about new security protocols," she said, with a mouthful of food.  
  
Somehow, the colonel understood why it was hard to hear correctly, since Tatie had not been able to get much to eat since she arrived a day ago. She had been busier than she ever knew with security reports and supervising security teams and giving enough advice to be an instructor at the Academy in regards to security procedures.  
  
Tatie finished eating her lunch, then ran to her quarters and asked for the transmission to be sent to her there. When the transmission screen came up, it asked for the identity of who was sending the signal. She thought it was rather a bad habit idea, but it was worth it at times. She then finally got her transmission to send.  
  
"USS Hornet. Commander Mathison here," came the reply.  
  
Tatie looked at her shipmate, then spoke up. "Commander, is the captain available?" she asked politely.  
  
Terry looked at her on the Hornet's main viewer. "Stand by, commander," he said as he tapped his commbadge. "Mathison to Captain Enor," he said.  
  
"Enor here, go ahead commander."  
  
"Captain, Commander Williams is on the comm for you, sir.," Terry explained.  
  
"Very well. Route the signal through to my quarters, please. I'll take it down here," he said.  
  
"Aye sir."  
  
Mathison looked to the cadet at the tactical station, and nodded, and she realized what it meant, and rerouted the message.  
  
Captain Enor went to get a cup of herbal tea, to relax himself, as he was looking out the window in his ready room, to space, as stars were streaking by. This was a rather comforting picture for him, since it's so peaceful, and his ship running smoothly. He turned when his monitor beeped, saying the communication from his fiancé was coming through. He quickly slipped into the chair behind his desk, and activated the monitor, and the image of her came on the screen.  
  
"Hi," he said at first.  
  
"Hi to you too," she said, quite happy, yet tired. "What's this I hear about you heading to Trill?" she asked.  
  
"About nine hours after you left, I got a call from Trill, saying something about a severe problem with the symbiont breeding cycle. They had called Starfleet Command up, and asked for me to deal with it, but unfortunately, that's all I can tell you, and that it's a high priority mission," he explained.  
  
"Why can't they send the Enterprise?" she asked, partly with concern.  
  
"The Enterprise is still docked at Starbase 215, undergoing an extensive system repair and overhaul, not to mention, fixing problems with their new warp core," he continued, "Star said something about it in a message to me yesterday."  
  
"And, I take it they wanted the only Trill captain in the fleet to come in and address this one?" she asked, with emphasis on 'only'.  
  
"Who else would they call on for this? Besides, I knew sooner or later, something like this would happen. We've finished converting cargo bays one and two for liquid pools to be set up. That much should explain the mission," he commented, in a somewhat sympathetic tone.  
  
"Okay.... Will you call me when you get back?" she asked, almost at a beg.  
  
"I promise."  
  
"I will hold you to that, and if you don't, I'll hang you up by those cute spots of yours," she replied, with a hint of sarcasm.  
  
He just sighed and shook his head, with a small smile on his face. "I won't let you do that, and you know it."  
  
She giggled from that. "Then make sure you call me as soon as you get back this way," she said through her giggles.  
  
"Alright. I'll call you the instant I'm in visual hailing range," he promised.  
  
"Okay. Love you," she said as she blew him a kiss.  
  
"I love you to," he said as the transmission ended, due to going out of range.  
  
"Bridge to Captain Enor," came the voice of Cadet Yates, in command of the ship..  
  
"Go ahead," came his reply, reading on the progress of the cadets, as filed by Commander Mathison and Cadet Yates.  
  
"We're approaching the Trill system, sir."  
  
"Thank you. I'm on my way," he said as he got up and left the ready room and stepped onto the bridge.  
  
Most of the cadets had retired to their quarters, and only Cadets Yates and Tzjan were still on the bridge, and the common bridge officers were manning their stations. The viewscreen shifted, showing the ship dropping out of warp and entering his home planetary system. Enor watched partly in satisfaction as he knew that their mission was going to be completed to the best of the ability of his crew.  
  
"Bridge to engineering," Enor said, "begin a phase two survey of our destination."  
  
"Aye sir," came the voice of Commander Mathews, from engineering. She turned to her engineering staff. "You heard the captain. Let's get those new sensors online."  
  
The engineering crew quickly went to their workstations and started their sensor sweeps, beginning with the proposed target location for resettlement of the symbionts.  
  
The Trill homeworld was covered with lovely purple oceans, that made several of the non-Trill crew members to think how that could possibly be, and those who call that planet 'home' sympathize. As the fine starship entered orbit and started sensor sweeps on both the Mak'ala caves, and the resettlement site, Chris decided it was time to go down to check on the tanks, then to beam down to Trill personally, to talk to the Guardians, as well as the Symbiosis Commission board regarding what was going to happen. 


	6. Arrival at the Caves of Mak'ala

CHAPTER 6  
  
"Captain's log, stardate 52154.6. In order to secure the aid of the Guardians of my home planet of Trill for our symbiont resettlement project, I am beaming down personally to speak with them, and also to the board of the Symbiosis Commission. I have also enlisted the aid of the starships Excalibur , Sarajevo, and Thunderchild. I'm also happy to report that the cadets are adjusting well to starship life, and they're enjoying the added freedom, just as I did during my field assignment on the Enterprise-D during my freshman year at the Academy. There's also reason to celebrate, with the Joining of Lieutenant Katrina Mourana tomorrow. However, I cannot shake the feeling that this is not going to be as easy to do as I'd planned. Maybe I'm just worried with this large number of cadets onboard, or maybe, it's just that I'm simply very nervous about the whole mission. Either way, I've ordered a level two security alert and ordered long range sensor sweeps, just to be on the safe side..."  
  
  
  
The cool feel of the transporter beam on his skin was just as soothing as stepping into the sonic showers, as Enor appeared in the caves of Mak'ala, where the Guardians tend to the symbionts. He had to have a wrist beacon on his arm, so he could see around.  
  
"Hello?" he called out.  
  
"Coming..." came a young female voice, from deep in the caves.  
  
"Alright," he said as he pulled out his tricorder and scanned.  
  
He then bent down, and was on his knees and scanning the fluid in which the symbionts were held.  
  
"Hornet to Captain Enor," came the voice of Lieutenant Perim, over his commbadge.  
  
He tapped his uniform insignia, and answered, "Enor here, go ahead."  
  
"Sir, we're receiving a hail from Earth Station McKinley, for you sir," she told him, "from Commander Madison. It's coded personal."  
  
"Very well. Patch it through to me here," he requested.  
  
"Chris?" came Star's voice.  
  
"It's me. What's going on?"  
  
"I found out what those bloody codes mean."  
  
"Don't just hold that info to yourself," he said, matching her previous sarcasm.  
  
"Watch it, mister! I'm not one of your Starfleet officers! Well anyway, they're given to select people ranking from commander and above. The people who get these codes are allowed information to special projects. Also, when you get back, there's something you've got to see. I won't go into details because you got to see it to believe it. It has to do with that special posting here," she told him.  
  
"Well, I look forward to it. Out of curiosity, did they call you in to work on a starship design?" he asked.  
  
"Mmmmmm maybe. You'll see it when you get here," came an extremely cryptic reply.  
  
"Well, I look forward to seeing it. If all goes well, we'll be back within the week, in time for Admiral Hill's birthday party. I'm going to get a few gifts from home, while I can, and learn how to gift wrap presents, or, just send them into the computer, and let them be gift wrapped that way," he said, with a chuckle. "We have the tanks ready to go, and once started, should only take three days, at the most."  
  
"Good. I also want to introduce you personally to the officer I worked with on this project, when you get back. You'll get along with him really well. I'll warn you now that he's Irish, so whatever you do, don't tick him off."  
  
"Then I'll try to get back more quickly. I'll keep in touch, and we have cause to celebrate here. Lieutenant Mourana is going to be joined tomorrow," he said to her.  
  
"Tell her I said congratulations." she requested.  
  
"I will. Enor out."  
  
He slowly lowered his hand into the fluid, and a slight electrical discharge hit his knuckles, as a symbiont swam by. Another one came right into his hand and settled, as if resting. His first impulse was to pull away slowly, but he felt it communicating with him, through electrochemical signals, which told a lot.  
  
He was disturbed as a Guardian came up from the darkness in the caves. She was young, only a few years older than Enor's host, who she looked at as she approached. The young captain turned his head to see a rather familiar face.  
  
Talia stared at him, shock and surprise written all over her face. "Chris what a surprise! You were the last person I thought I'd see here." She moves to the pool and lowers a symbiont into it. "I guess the Commission decided to listen to me for a change and request help so we don't lose any symbionts."  
  
The woman looked at him and laughed. "I take it you didn't expect to find me here after all I had just finished the Joining program when you got in it." Talia examines the pool full of symbionts, making sure they're all right.  
  
Chris stuttered, "How…what…..Talia what are you doing here?"  
  
Talia responds with smile. "I'm head of the Guardians, I went into the Guardian training program after leaving the Joining program and I had refused a Joining." She watches him carefully. Chris stares at her in complete shock.  
  
"You refused a Joining?!?!? That's the reason we go into the program: to be Joined!"  
  
Talia shrugs, glancing downwards at the many linked pools. "I like challenges, Chris and being Joined was never part of the challenge when I entered the program, I wanted to see if I had what it took to get through the programs. That's why I'm a Guardian now: for the challenge to understand symbionts."  
  
Chris watched her, thinking and says. "I can understand that but it's highly unusual for a Trill to enter the program and not want to be Joined." 


End file.
